


Little Sister

by novaartinoisaqueen



Series: ask fics [4]
Category: Renegades - Marissa Meyer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-23
Updated: 2020-03-23
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:40:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23283388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/novaartinoisaqueen/pseuds/novaartinoisaqueen
Summary: Nova finds out she is going to have a baby sister.
Relationships: David Artino /Tala Artino
Series: ask fics [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1654693
Kudos: 4





	Little Sister

**Author's Note:**

> im moving most of my fics over to ao3 from tumblr (nova-artino-is-a-queen). enjoy!

Nova stood in her bedroom doorway, Dolly Bear clutched in her arms. From the kitchen, she could hear her parent’s hushed voices. She had been playing with the stuffed animal on top of her bed when the bear’s arm ripped, exposing white stuffing. Nova, who was barely five years old, her birthday just weeks ago, was confused. Her mom had told her to treat her belongings with care, and she did. Dolly Bear was one of her favorite belongings and closest companion, besides Papà. She handled the bear with gentle hands, as if it were a baby. So why, she wondered, did Dolly Bear rip? After crying and attempting to fix the bear herself with tape Uncle Alec had brought, a valuable gift, Nova had wiped her tears and snot from her face and resolved to confronting her mom about it. Maybe she could help fix Dolly Bear.

But Nova had paused when she heard her parents whispering. They whispered often. Nova could never understand why. She wanted to be included in the conversation too, but whenever she had tried in the past, her parents always changed the subject. So, to solve her problem, Nova resulted to listening to their conversations from her bedroom. It was frustrating being five.

“How’re we going to support another child, David?” Her mom ran a hand through her hair and leaned against the kitchen counter. “We barely got by when Nova was born. We couldn’t have done it without your brother.”

“We’ll figure it out, Tala.” Papà reached for Mom, and Nova watched as she let herself be pulled into his embrace. He kissed her forehead, then her cheek. Nova scrunched her nose; she never understood how grownups could be all…lovey-dovey, as her mom would put it. It was gross. Nova would never kiss anyone the way she had seen Mom kiss Papà. She would never kiss anyone that wasn’t related to her, either! Kissing was just gross. “Do you…do you want another baby?”

“Of course I do.” Mom wiped at her eyes. “More than anything. But this is a dangerous time to have children. We took a risk with Nova, but what if we can’t do it again?”

“We can,” Papà reassured, pushing her hair away from her face. “I’ll start selling more, we’ll have to cut back on some things.” He looked around their poorly furnished apartment, lit only by candles and a few lights that were close to burning out. “We can do it.”

Mom nodded slowly. “And what about your brother? Will he help us again once we tell him?”

Papà let out a slow sigh. “I won’t ask for help unless we’re desperate. The less in debt we are to Alec, the better. He’s already suspicious about Nova’s power. I don’t want to owe more to him.”

Nova decided to creep from her doorway then, hugging Dolly Bear to her chest as she made her way across the carpeted apartment. Her parents continued talking, unaware of her presence, until she opened her mouth. “I’m going to be a big sister?” she asked bluntly.

Both her parents whipped around, white in their faces. They exchanged glances. Nova picked at Dolly Bear’s rip. They always looked at one another when Nova asked questions.

“Sweetheart, you ripped your bear.” Mom walked through the door to the living room and knelt in front of Nova. “How did this happen?” Nova let her pull the stuffed animal from her grip to examine the injury.

“Why were you and Papà talking about a baby?” Nova watched Mom turn Dolly Bear over in her arms, assessing the damage done.

“I can fix this real quick, honey.” Mom gave her a tight lipped smile, then stood back up and headed to the kitchen, Dolly Bear hanging from one hand. Nova trailed behind her, eyebrows furrowed.

Her mom searched through drawers until she found string and a needle. Dolly Bear was laid across the kitchen counter. Nova scrambled up onto a bar stool, sitting on her knees and hanging over the surface.

“Papà.” Nova looked up at her dad, who stood beside her.

“Yes, _Tesoro_?” He ruffled her bushy hair, thick and unruly. It annoyed Nova. She wondered if she asked, her mom would cut it shorter for her.

“Why were you and Mom talking about a baby and pretending you weren’t?”

Papà’s hand on her head paused. Mom’s hand tensed over her needlework.

“Papà?”

“Nova, _Tesoro_ ,” Papà sighed, “Mom’s pregnant. Do you know what that means?”

Nova nodded firmly, then hesitated. “Wait…I don’t know.”

Papà chuckled. “It means you’re going to have a little brother or sister soon.”

“So I am going to be a big sister?” Nova couldn’t help the grin that slowly spread across her face. She knew her parents were clearly upset, but the thought of her having a sibling was a dream come true. She had been asking for so long for a sibling, specifically a brother. With a brother, there would be an equal number of boys and girls in their small apartment.

Her smile turned out to be contagious, as her mom’s lips spread. “Yes, love. Are you excited?”

“Yes!” Nova squealed, clapping her hands.

Her mom laughed and picked Nova up from the bar stool, Dolly Bear forgotten. She attacked Nova’s face in kisses, causing Nova to giggle loudly. Papà appeared from the other side and enveloped them in a hug. Nova gave the both of them kisses on their cheeks, feeling happier than she had in months.

“We’ll be okay,” Papà murmured. Nova knew it was directed at Mom, but she couldn’t help but agree.


End file.
